Always You and I
by Firenzie
Summary: It's not a songfic and has nothing to do with that song. It's a Taiora, and it will end happily. Tai walks through the park and remembers a whole bunch of things that has happened between him and Sora... I suck at summaries, please read!
1. Childhood Memories

**Always You and I [Part 1/2]**

By Firenze

**A/N:** To get things cleared up, this has nothing to do with the 98 Degrees song, and it's not a Takari. I just suck at titles, and if you've read my fics, you know that. It's a working title, if I get a better idea, I'll change it. For once, this is not a fic that ends sadly or has some dramatic twist. I'm trying to keep things light and sweet and fluffy here. Of course, I'm not going to succeed, but it's worth a try, right? This is going to have _lots and lots and lots and a heck of a lot more _flashbacks, which is why I turned back to HTML so I could italicize it. And this is pure Taiora, no other character triangles or squares, and in fact, really no other characters. Mind you, I still sort of have writer's block, so if the end turns out crummy, I apologize. This idea came into my head around midnight when I was listening to all my CDs. I meant to keep this one part, but you know how I tend to drone on and on. So that's enough rambling from me. Sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and enjoy!

**Oh yeah… **I fixed the error where Sora said Taichi's name before he told her… Thanks, SpeedyGP (aka dead author) [ugh, it's so annoying to type that whole thing out…can you change your alias already?], for noticing that. It's because I first had Tai introduce himself at the beginning, but he didn't know her name, but then I just decided to change it for some reason.

**Disclaimer: **These annoying things will be the death of me. Tai, Sora, Kari, Mimi, Mrs. Takenouchi, Odaiba, and Highton View Terrace don't belong to me. The park does, unless it somehow really exists. And also the poem in there is from Chrono Cross, my new obsession.

**~*^*~******

The big, bright sun set below the horizon, making the mountains seem to glow. The sky was a beautiful blend of soft pastel yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and blues mixed in with vibrant tones of red, orange, yellow, and blue, with a few pinkish clouds. It was a beautiful sight, and it matched perfectly with the tons of flowers in full bloom. The season was springtime, and the weather and everything about the outdoors was absolutely perfect. It was getting late, but many people were outside enjoying the wonderful day.

A young man walked alone along a quiet lane in the middle of a park, which was shaded by large trees with many shades of green leaves. Sunlight poured through the gaps in the trees, casting little light on the path. The man walked with his hands in his pockets, completely silent, but just turning his head and taking in his surroundings. It was not a new place to him at all, in fact, this place was the site of so many of his memories. Much time had passed since he had last visited this huge, peaceful park in the center of the hectic and bustling city of Highton View Terrace, and he was finally back, seeing how so many things had changed. But he couldn't help but think how many things had stayed the same, all through the years. Looking at everything made him remember the events that had happened so long ago, yet it played clearly in his mind like it had happened yesterday...

The trees became sparser, and there were fewer and fewer of them along the side of the path, until there were none at all. He passed by a little sandbox, remembering how huge it had seemed to him as a child. He and his younger sister had played in that sandbox very often. Until that one summer day when he met another young girl...

**~*^*~**

_Hikari had fallen ill and had to return to the hospital again, so it was Taichi all by himself in the sandbox. It wasn't as much fun without someone else to play with. He scooped up a handful of sand, and let it sift back through his fingers. He got another handful, and repeated the dull process over and over._

_ _

_"What are you doing?" a girl about his age asked curiously. She had short, light brown hair and pretty ruby eyes. She had just stepped into the sandbox and noticed him all alone._

_ _

_"Nothing," he said. He explained how his little sister frequently got sick, and this was one of those times. "I'm just here by myself doing nothing."_

_ _

_"So you have no one at all to play with?" He nodded, and she sat down next to him. "Me too." They were both silent for a while; the only noise was sand being picked up and dropped again. The girl did nothing, but she appeared to be reflecting on something. "I was thinking, since we're both all alone – maybe we could play together."_

_ _

_"That's a good idea," he said. "Wanna build a sandcastle? 'Kari and I build sandcastles all the time, like when we're at the beach. Even though this sand isn't very good."_

_ _

_She nodded. "'Kay." They set to work building a sandcastle, and Taichi had to admit that it was a lot nicer than the ones he and Hikari usually built. When it was completely finished, the girl sat back down and admired their work. "Well, now that that's done, what do you wanna do now?"_

_ _

_"I want to dig a deep hole," he told her excitedly. "Maybe one all the way to China."_

_ _

_"That isn't possible to dig a hole that far and deep. Holes can't go across water," she remarked. "And what's so special about China?"_

_ _

_He shrugged. "I dunno, but people on TV always say it. Wanna dig a hole anyway?"_

_ _

_"How deep will it go?"_

_ _

_"I guess we'll just have to find out when we finish," Taichi said. It sounded interesting to them, so they set to work digging their own hole with their hands. Their hands got dirty, and sand got underneath their fingernails, but they didn't care. It was a tiring procedure, but they kept on going, trying to discover the mystery of how deep it could go._

_ _

_After a while, Taichi said breathlessly, "I think I feel something!" _

_ _

_"Me too!" The girl exclaimed, digging deeper. "It's definitely something, but I don't know what…" So they continued digging, more frantically now. "I got it!" she cried happily._

_ _

_"So do I!" But it turned out all they had were each other's hands. Their holes had gone deeper and deeper until they connected at one point, creating a tunnel. They were amused at how excited they had been about their find, when in reality, they had only found each other._

_ _

_As they were still laughing, a woman with dark hair up in an elegant twist came to the sandbox. "It's time to go now," she announced to the girl._

_ _

_She stopped giggling and wiped her hands off on her clothes. "All right, Mama." She turned to Taichi. "Goodbye –" She paused for a second. "Wait – I never found out what your name was."_

_ _

_"Taichi," he replied, "but all my friends call me Tai."_

_ _

_"Oh. My name's Sora. Nice meeting you, Taich—Tai." She got up and followed her mother away, still waving. "It was fun! Maybe we'll meet again someday."_

_ _

**~*^*~**

_ _

When she had called him Tai, it showed that they had easily become friends. And meet again they had. In fact, they kept running into each other everywhere, it seemed. But before they were old enough to go to school or play on soccer teams or anything, this park was the heart of their experiences together. He looked to his left and saw the playground, one of the places they went together often, also the place where they met for the second time.

**~*^*~**

_Taichi sat on one side of the seesaw, trying to figure out what its purpose was. It didn't seem so fun. Hikari had recovered, but gotten sick again when he had tried to get her to kick a soccer ball. She nearly died because she was thinking only of making him happy and proud of her._

_ _

_"What are you doing?"_

_ _

_He looked up and found himself looking into ruby colored eyes. He knew by the voice (she had asked exactly the same question last time) and eye color that it was Sora again. "It's you!" he said._

_ _

_She looked extremely happy to see him. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again…"_

_ _

_"Me neither. Wanna play in the sandbox again?"_

_ _

_She shook her head. "It's too crowded. Anyway, why don't we play here?"_

_ _

_"But this thing isn't much fun," he said, gesturing to the seesaw. "It doesn't do anything."_

_ _

_She giggled, a clear, high-pitched girlish laugh. "Silly, it takes two people to ride a seesaw."_

_ _

_"A whatchamahoosit?" he asked. She smiled a bright smile and pushed the other end of the seesaw down. Taichi's side went up in the air. "Whoa…what are you doing?"_

_ _

_Sora sat down on the other side, leaving Taichi still in the air. Then she bent her knees and pushed her feet off the ground. Now she went up in the air and Taichi was on the ground again. "Now you do it," she told him. "Just push off the ground with your feet." He understood the concept quickly, and just as soon changed his opinion on the seesaw._

_ _

_"That was fun, but I wanna do something else now." Sora agreed, and they both ran to the slide. He got there before her, climbed up the ladder and slid down. They went again and again, until that got boring too._

_ _

_"Jungle gym?" Sora asked. He nodded. Her eyes sparkled. "Race ya!" Then she was off._

_ _

_"No fair!" he yelled, running after her, but she got there first and scrambled up the bars. He climbed up like her, all the way up to the top. They had to admit there was really nothing to do on the jungle gym, so they instantly moved to the swing set._

_ _

_They swung for a while, getting higher and higher until they felt like they were flying. It was a free feeling, soaring through the air. But it eventually lost its fun too, after a while. Sora put her feet down, and as her feet dragged on the ground, the swing got lower and lower until it stopped. But Tai had to make a big show. He slowed the swing down a bit, then he gripped onto the chain, leaned back, and did a back flip. He landed on his feet._

_ _

_Sora clapped. "That was cool!"_

_ _

_"Now let's go on…the monkey bars!" It was a constant race between them, even though Taichi usually won._

_ _

_He let Sora have the first go on the monkey bars, but she kept slipping. Now he had something to teach her. "Just get a good grip on the bar and don't let go, and then swing your body back, and then when you go forward, stick one arm out, catch the next bar, and keep going," he explained. It took her a few tries to get used to it, but when she eventually got the hang of it, they both had lots of fun (and blisters on their hands)._

_ _

**~*^*~**

It was a great thing about their friendship. They could teach each other and learn so much, and have the best time in the world together, no matter what they were doing. Mostly, they spent their time in that park. 

After they moved from Highton View Terrace, they never really saw each other that much. They even started attending the same school in Odaiba, and they were in each other's classes, but they didn't really talk as much. A thing called cooties had leaked its way into their minds, and they were convinced that they shouldn't hang out with members of the opposite gender. It was foolish to them, but other people would call them boyfriend and girlfriend. Girls were only supposed to chase boys, and boys were supposed to play pranks on the girls, like sticking fake spiders in their desks. So the years went by, and though they were always so close, they stayed far away.

Taichi and Sora were both big lovers of soccer, but separated into different teams because of genders. One day, each of them and a group of their teammates headed to the park in Highton View Terrace to hang out and practice.

**~*^*~**

_The park in Highton View Terrace was a bit far, but well worth it for its wide, open, grassy fields, which weren't crowded with people. The group of boys occupied one side of the field, and the girls were playing on the other. It took them a while to notice each other. They only did when the girl's soccer ball was kicked all the way to their side._

_ _

_A soccer ball soared through the air and Taichi bounced it off his head. He started dribbling it to the goal, but his teammates announced that it was the wrong ball. So he picked it up and noticed a group of girls yelling at him to give their ball back. He tossed it up in the air and dropkicked it to them. There was something familiar about that girl who caught the ball and thanked him, but he couldn't quite remember what. Her light brown hair, her ruby eyes… Ruby eyes? Could it be… "Sora?"_

_ _

_The girl turned back around. "Yes?" And then she finally paid attention to the boy, and there was no mistaking that huge mop of brown hair. "Tai?"_

_ _

_He ran over to her, ignoring his angry teammates, who were shouting for him to come back and continue the game. But an idea popped into his head. Maybe the two teams could play against each other, boys against girls. He told them, and both sides agreed that it was a good idea._

_ _

_It was a heated game, and Taichi and Sora were the stars of their teams. In the end, the boy's team won with one lucky shot, but it had been so close and such a good game that neither of them really cared._

_ _

_"Nice shot," Sora said to Tai, who had scored the last goal. She was panting, and he was bent over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath._

_ _

_"Good game. We should do it again sometime," he said._

_ _

_"Definitely," she agreed._

_ _

**~*^*~**

** **

So their friendship was rekindled. Taichi and Sora were like peas and carrots again. (A line from "Forrest Gump.") They started talking and hanging out together again, not really giving a care to the ignorant people who teased them of being a couple. They were best friends and they had fun together, so why should a few insults matter?

Taichi smiled and put his hands in his pockets. It was such a great time when he and Sora got back together after so long. And their friendship only continued to grow stronger. He walked along the shore of a small pond. He and Sora always used to come there and feed the ducks breadcrumbs or something. One day, after they did that, he taught her something new.

**~*^*~**

_Taichi picked up a smooth, white stone and tossed it at the water._

_ _

_"What are you doing, trying to hit a few ducks or something?" Sora asked, her hands on her hips. "We just fed them and now you're trying to pelt stones at them while their digesting their meal?" She shoved the empty bag of breadcrumbs into her pocket._

_ _

_He chuckled. "No, I'm skipping stones. Watch." He pointed the stone he had thrown, and it skipped a few times on the water's surface, before sinking._

_ _

_She was in awe. "That's amazing! How do you do that?" She picked up a jagged rock and threw it in the same motion he had, but a little too hard. It promptly sunk._

_ _

_"No, no, you have to throw it gently. Let it glide on the water. And you have to make sure the kind of stone is right too." He found the perfect one and demonstrated again. This one skipped, as Sora counted, eight times._

_ _

_She looked a bit envious. "Show me how."_

_ _

_He smiled and nodded. "Look for a smooth, flat stone." She scouted along the shore, and picked up a large stone. "Naw, it's too big and heavy. Look for a smaller one." When she found something of the sort, he picked it up and examined it. "Perfect. Now here." He placed it back into her hand. Holding her hand, he moved his back and hers along with it. He swung it back and forth a few times. "Like that, okay? Then just sort of let if go." He grasped onto her wrist, and she gently threw the rock. It skipped twice and sunk._

_ _

_Sora beamed. "I did it!"_

_ _

_"Now try it on your own," he suggested, skipping another stone._

_ _

_A fast learner, with only a few tries, soon she was nearly as good as her teacher. "This is really cool, Tai. Thanks."_

_ _

_He grinned back and they spent the rest of the afternoon skipping stones across the water, trying to see who could get theirs to skip the most times, or the farthest it could go, or other little contests, until it got late and they had to go home._

_ _

**~*^*~**

_Taichi walked to the pond, wondering where Sora was. She said she would meet him there exactly at five o'clock. And she was known to be there early. _I wonder what happened to her, _he thought. _Maybe she forgot? _But that was nothing like Sora, and more the other way around. "Hmmm…" He started walking back where he came from, down the path of trees._

_ _

_"BOO!" Someone jumped directly in front of him, and he fell back, startled. As he laid on his back, that someone giggled._

_ _

_"Sora," he groaned, and she stuck her hand out and helped him up._

_ _

_"Sorry, I couldn't resist," she told him with a wide smile._

_ _

_"Where'd you come from, anyway? You practically dropped out of the sky."_

_ _

_"Close," she said. "I jumped from there." She pointed, and he looked up. It was a very high branch._

_ _

_"Holy crap! How'd you get up there?" Taichi asked in wonder._

_ _

_"I flew," she said sarcastically. "Duh, you climb!" She walked over to the base of the tree, put her arms around the trunk, and scurried up, grabbing onto any branches sticking out that she found, and using them for footholds. He watched her as she climbed all the way up to the big, high branch she had jumped from. "See? That easy." She jumped back down and landed nimbly on her feet._

_ _

_"Easy? Are you kidding?"_

_ _

_She stared at him. "Now don't tell me you've never climbed a tree before."_

_ _

_By looking at him, she could tell he hadn't. "What?" he asked. "What's wrong with that? So I haven't climbed trees before. Just because I'm not some sort of monkey—"_

_ _

_Sora giggled and then grabbed his wrist. "Oh, come on, I'll show you. You aren't afraid of heights or anything, are you?"_

_ _

_"Uh, no! Of course not!" he said, trying to act tough._

_ _

_"I'll take your word for it. Now there's really nothing to climbing a tree. Just get a hold onto any branch you see and pull yourself up. Simple."_

_ _

_He tried, and fell down a few times, getting a few cuts and scratches. "I hope I don't get any splinters or anything."_

_ _

_"Relax. Climbing trees is fun and easy." Sora was right. There really was nothing to it, and he had nothing to fear. He climbed as high as he could, and she followed suit. They settled down a large branch, and they were able to get a view of the pond. "That's how I knew you were coming," she explained._

_ _

_The sun was starting to set, and Taichi leaned back against the tree, watching it._

_ _

_"Beautiful, huh?" Sora asked, with a contented sigh. "I love it like this. Sitting in a high tree, watching the sunset, with your best friend." She laid her head down on his shoulder, and he was surprised at first, but relaxed. He casually slung his arm around her, and they sat together, watching the gorgeous sunset._

**~*^*~**__

_ _

A well was on top of a small hill, practically falling apart. A few of its stones were lose, and the pieces of wood were falling from the little roof it had. The bucket was rusted and lying on the foot of the hill, still connected the thick, frayed rope bound to the crank.

Taichi blinked and when he opened his eyes, he had a flash of how the well used to look years ago.

**~*^*~**

_A well was on top of a small hill, brand new. It had large, shiny stones at its base, and a nice little wooden roof covering it. A gleaming pail hung from a thick piece of rope. When it had been built, the two children had no idea. Lots of time had passed since they came to their favorite park, because they had been so wrapped up with the Digital World. Sure, time went by a whole lot differently then, but they had been so wrapped up just remembering their adventure. It hardly seemed possible. But now they had finally returned, and there were a few new changes. But it was still their favorite old park._

_ _

_"D'you think it's a wishing well?" Sora asked excitedly._

_ _

_"Maybe it's just here for decoration," Taichi replied. "After all, why would you really need a well in the middle of a park. We're not living in the old ages or anything. I suppose it can be a wishing well."_

_ _

_"Got any money?" she asked, emptying her pockets. She found a button, a marble, a few candy wrappers, and a piece of lint._

_ _

_Taichi dug in his own pockets and produced a baseball card, a few pogs, a bubblegum wrapper, more lint, and a shiny ten-yen piece. "I only have ten yen here. And it's only one coin."_

_ _

_"Maybe we can share it," she suggested. "One coin, two wishes?"_

_ _

_"Unless we wish for the same thing," he replied. "But the odds of that are – oh, leave it to Kou—Izzy to figure these things out." Koushiro was a computer nerd and genius, a fellow Digidestined. Taichi and Koushiro had met years ago, and since his name had been so hard to pronounce, he nicknamed him Izzy from his last name Izumi, and it stuck._

_ _

_"But if we tell each other what we're wishing, than it won't come true," Sora pointed out._

_ _

_"Oh well, it's worth a try anyway." He grabbed one half of the coin, and she got the other side, they closed their eyes, and dropped it into the well. _I wish… I wish Sora/Tai and I will stay best friends forever, no matter what. _After a while, they heard a faint splash of the coin in the water, and they opened their eyes._

_ _

_"I wonder if my wish will come true," Taichi said._

_ _

_"Time will tell," Sora said wisely. "Time will tell."_

_ _

**~*^*~**

_Has time told us? _Taichi wondered. _Or do we still have to wait? It's been forever since I've last seen Sora… I wonder if we're really still friends. Maybe if I see her again, we'll catch up on the times and then become best friends like always. Or maybe we haven't talked to each other for so long that we'll forget how to have a conversation together. _He sighed. _I hope not. Oh well, either way, I still can't wait to see her._

And then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large, grassy hill. Nothing had changed at all about that hill, except maybe a few plants. But it was nothing big. He wondered if that hill would stay the same forever. He stopped in his tracks and then changed direction. He walked up the slope and stood atop the hill, vividly remembering that beautiful night, when he and Sora spent their time underneath the stars, talking – and when a promise was made…

**~*^*~**

_The night sky was dark, a mix of midnight black and dark blues and violets. There were billions and billions of stars twinkling in the velvety black backdrop. Bursts of stars created familiar constellations. And there was the moon, larger than it seemed possible, perfectly round, bright, and a buttery yellow color. The view was breathtaking._

_ _

_Taichi leaned on his back, his head resting on one of his arms. His other arm was pointing up. "See? That one is Leo, one of my favorites. Leo the Lion is strong and brave and courageous. Reminds me of Leomon. And then again, it's sort of like me." He went on to explain more._

_ _

_"Look at that one there," Sora said, pointing off in another direction. "It's Venus, the symbol of love. Like my crest." They went on, pointing out stars and constellations and other things. "Do you ever wonder if it's possible to read the stars?" she asked all of a sudden._

_ _

_"Huh? Read the stars?"_

_ _

_"You know horoscopes and divination, right? Well, some people think that our fate and destiny is written out in those stars. Every event that's meant to happen can be perceived from the alignment of planets and suns. It's always interested me."_

_ _

_"I always liked to think that we made our own future. The actions we made decided what would happen to us later on. But to think that everything is already mapped out kind of makes it seem like we aren't really living…we're just following the path already in front of us," Taichi said._

_ _

_"I never thought of it that way," she said thoughtfully. "But we're the Digi_Destined_, Tai. That means it was our destinies to become what we did. I heard that some mythical creatures can read the stars. Like centaurs and such. (That's what Firenze is in the Harry Potter books. Oh, but I'm not a centaur, and I _wish_ I could tell the future.) Think Centaurumon can tell the future by reading stars?"_

_ _

_"Silly me, I never bothered to ask," he joked._

_ _

_"I wonder what it would be like. Reading the stars, I mean." She put on a fake, scientific voice and said, "_Oh, the alignment of Jupiter and the Polaris, the North Star, means that trouble will soon be heading out way. But the position in which Cassiopeia will be in next week means that everything will come back to normal. _Sounds kind of silly when you put it that way," Sora replied. "It just sounds like a bunch of gibberish and scientific mumbo jumbo about something that can't even be proved scientifically."_

_ _

_"Yeah, and that's why I hate believing in fate. But how am I supposed to deny it, if I'm a Digidestined? Oh well, I really don't care if my actions are my choice or just fate, as long as it leads to the right thing. And kind of what I really want is just pure happiness," Taichi told her._

_ _

_"But you can't force happiness, you know? And if you spend forever trying to achieve pure happiness, then you don't realize what you do have."_

_ _

_He put his hands behind his head, but turned his head to look at her. "Are you happy?"_

_ _

_She pondered that question for a while. "I don't know… There's always got to be some hint of joy in you. But I don't even know about my life now. Things are confusing."_

_ _

_"Life's always going to be confusing," he told her. "There's obstacles and boundaries to get past, lessons to learn, things you have to get past of learn to accept. That's a given. What's the point of life if there weren't any problems or changes or confusing moments? It would be the same dull thing, droning on and on. Believe it or not, confusion, chaos, and problems are actually a good thing."_

_ _

_"Life's full of good things. So why linger on the bad? Especially if the bad serves some sort of purpose, and then it can turn things good again. I think that happiness and sadness don't truly exist. It's just a simple feeling, and one that you determine. It depends on how you perceive things that make what's good and bad. It's all just in our head, not our hearts."_

_ _

_"That sounded pretty deep," Taichi remarked. "But first you say that our lives are already predetermined and now that we can't feel any emotions and it's all in our minds. Not much hope to be left then."_

_ _

_"I never said I was right," Sora told him. "This is just my view on life."_

_ _

"_Want to hear my opinion on life?" he asked her, and she nodded. "Okay. Here it is:_

_ _

"Insanity leads to chaos,

Then to solitude…

The fruitless effort of adding

Meaning to what is meaningless

"A lone, crimson tear

Falls to the sea…

The echo of the remaining star

Cries out in the infinite vacuum

"The least I can do

Is send my distant prayers

Over the wind of time,

Setting sail on dreams…" _Taichi said._

_ _

_"Ooh, that was a little hard to grasp, but nice and poetic," Sora said, softly clapping. "I never knew you had it in you, Tai."_

_ _

_"I don't." He grinned. "I got that out of a video game." _(It's from the poet girl in Chrono Cross, which belongs to Squaresoft and stuff, I didn't make it up and I don't own it.)

_Sora laughed. "You had me fooled. But now you ruined that whole deep, meaningful moment."_

_ _

_"Sorry," he said apologetically. "But it was getting a little too intense for me."_

_ _

_"Yeah," she said. "But to top of the cheese on the nachos, or rather, this profound moment, let's make a promise."_

_ _

_"A promise?"_

_ _

_She nodded. "Yup. A promise that no matter what happens, we'll stay best friends for as long as we live, and won't let anything get in the way of that."_

_ _

That was my wish anyway… _"Okay," he agreed. "We'll stay best friends for as long as we live, and won't let anything get in the way of that. I promise." He stuck out his pinky and she linked hers around his._

_ _

_When they let go, Sora said, "Pinky swears are kind of lame, but—"_

_ _

_"Now _you_ ruined the whole deep, meaningful moment," he told her._

_ _

_"Just never forget this promise," she whispered. "Never forget this night…"_

_ _

_"I won't forget a night this important," he said softly. "Believe me, I won't."_

_ _

**~*^*~**

_And I haven't, _Tai thought to himself. _I still remember it as well as anything in the world, Sora. _After looking a bit around at the view from the spot, he put his hands back in his pockets, walked down the hill, and continued on his way along the path.

**END PART 1**

** **

Sorry to split it up like that, but this was seriously _way_ too long. Hmmm, it came out better than I expected. If anyone cares, the next part will be out as soon as possible. And I'm on vacation, so if the cursed writer's block doesn't get to me, that'll probably be tomorrow. Please, please, please, review if you're interested in the least! And if you've got a title idea, tell me!


	2. Unbroken Promises

**Always You and I [Part 2/2]**

By Firenze

**A/N:** Read the first part before this or else you won't understand some stuff. I put in lots of things that are sort of from the last part, so you need to know it to fully understand and spot those little things. I also added some Final Fantasy VIII-ish stuff into this, like the 'meet me at the flower field, I'll be waiting' sort of thing. Actually, it's pretty much _exactly _from FFVIII. I admit it, Tai and Sora are slightly OOC in some parts, but nothing big, like Sora being some beauty queen or Tai acting like some gangster. But this part is the high school and up years. So, sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and enjoy! (If you didn't recognize that line…you obviously didn't read the first part, or your memory just sucks like mine) And if your memory _does_ suck, I backtracked a bit, but you're not reading the same thing.

**Disclaimer: **I wish Tai and Sora and all these characters belonged to me, so I wouldn't have to have this stupid disclaimer, but how could they? I'm just a lowly little twelve-year-old (going on thirteen in _exactly_ one month!) girl who has never amounted to anything in my life so far. Oh, but I own Ryo (Hazuki, j/k) and Ayumi (who was based after some people at my school).

**~*^*~**

_"Let's make a promise."_

_ _

_"A promise?"_

_ _

_She nodded. "Yup. A promise that no matter what happens, we'll stay best friends for as long as we live, and won't let anything get in the way of that."_

_ _

That was my wish anyway… _"Okay," he agreed. "We'll stay best friends for as long as we live, and won't let anything get in the way of that. I promise." He stuck out his pinky and she linked hers around his._

_ _

_When they let go, Sora said, "Pinky swears are kind of lame, but—"_

_ _

_"Now _you_ ruined the whole deep, meaningful moment," he told her._

_ _

_"Just never forget this promise," she whispered. "Never forget this night…"_

_ _

_"I won't forget a night this important," he said softly. "Believe me, I won't."_

** **

**~*^*~**

_And I haven't, _Tai thought to himself. _I still remember it as well as anything in the world, Sora. _After looking a bit around at the view from the spot, he put his hands back in his pockets, walked down the hill, and continued on his way along the path.

His legs began to get tired. He had walked so long and so far, and it was time he rested. He sat down on a nearby bench, and as soon as he touched it, he had another vision of the past race before his eyes.

**~*^*~**

_Taichi walked along the path, whistling a merry tune. He was bored and had decided to come to the park without Sora today. Actually, he had called her house, and Mrs. Takenouchi said she wasn't home. Where could she be? _Maybe she's hanging out with Mimi or something, after all, she's still here visiting. Or maybe she's at another friend's house. Maybe she had tennis practice. She could be just wandering around the city doing nothing. She could be buying some flower seeds or something. Maybe she's just running errands. Maybe she's visiting her dad's grave or something at the cemetery. _Or maybe, she could've been sitting on a bench in the park in Highton View Terrace, only a few feet in front of him. That's exactly where she was._

_ _

_She was crying, Taichi noticed. Her head was down, her hands covering them, and as he got closer, he could hear her soft sobs. Something was bothering her. He hated seeing anyone sad, especially his best friend, Sora, so he rushed over to her and sat by her on the bench._

_ _

_"Sora?" he asked gently, placing his arm around her shoulders. "Sora, what's wrong?"_

_ _

_"Tai?" she asked, choking on a sob. "What are you doing here?"_

_ _

_"What are _you_ doing here, sitting in the park crying? What happened?"_

_ _

_She explained that she had come to meet Ryo, her boyfriend, here, so they could go around the park and have fun. But when he arrived, thirty minutes late, he told her that he wanted a break up, because there was "someone else."_

_ _

_"There's always someone else, isn't there? Who is it?"_

_ _

_"Ayumi," she told him. Ayumi was the most popular girl in school, the prettiest, the head cheerleader, and the biggest slut, whore, and bitch in school. She had dated practically every single boy who attended Odaiba High._

_ _

_"Oh," he said dully. Taichi had to admit that he had dated Ayumi once too, last year, when they were freshmen. Then he scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. Sora buried her face in his shoulder, trying to stop the tears from coming. But he encouraged her to let them fall, to feel what was inside her heart. "Or really, to feel what your mind is making you feel. _It's just a simple feeling, and one that you determine. It depends on how you perceive things that make what's good and bad. It's all just in our head, not our hearts. _Sound familiar? Here's another: _Why linger on the bad? Especially if the bad serves some sort of purpose, and then it can turn things good again._ You said those exact things, Sora. Maybe you should follow your own advice. Maybe this break up was all for a reason."_

_ _

_She moved back and stared at him, into his warm, chocolate brown eyes. "I can't believe you remember all that," she said in amazement._

_ _

_"I was supposed to, wasn't I?" he asked. "Now cheer up, Sora. As long as we're in this park, we might as well have some fun, right?"_

_ _

_She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and he wiped any remaining wetness away with his thumb, as he held her face in his hands. "Thank you, Tai," she whispered._

_ _

_"Thank yourself, years in the past. After all, you said it."_

_ _

_She faintly smiled. "Thank you for reminding me about it. Where would I be without you?"_

_ _

_"Still crying on a bench in a public park."_

_ _

_Sora shook her head. "No, without you, I'd be nowhere. I'd be nothing. Because of you, I am who I am."_

_ _

_"Well, I think your parents had some part in that—"_

_ _

_"Can't you ever be serious?" she asked him._

_ _

_He thought for a while. "Hmmm…race ya to the tire swing!" He yelled, getting up and dashing off._

_ _

_She sighed. "I guess that's a no. Wait up, Tai!" And then she got up and ran after him._

_ _

**~*^*~**

Taichi laughed, just remembering it. _I never could be serious, could I? And if I could, I never was. _He got up off the bench and retraced his footsteps those years ago, walking to the tire swing.

The tire swing now was a tree with a big, strong branch sticking out, a broken rope, and a big huge tire just lying on the ground, buried under a layer of dirt and fallen leaves. Even back in its prime, it was nothing special, just a tire on a rope, connected to a branch, a typical tire swing, but it was fun anyway.

**~*^*~**

_Sora skidded to a stop in front of the tire swing. Where had Taichi gone? She looked all around, but he was nowhere. Finally, she turned back to face the tire swing. "Hmmm…"_

_ _

_"BOO!" Someone jumped directly in front of her, and she fell back, startled. As she laid on her back, that someone laughed._

_ _

_"Tai!" he cried, and he stuck his hand out and helped her up._

_ _

_"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he told her with a wide grin. "Does this scene feel familiar?"_

_ _

_"Just like when I taught that wimpy little boy how to climb trees," she replied, dusting herself off._

_ _

_"Hey, I resent that!"_

_ _

_"Well, I resent you trying to copy my moment," she said._

_ _

_"And I resent the fact that we're here arguing about nothing important, when we could be on the tire swing, getting dizzy and having fun," he said._

_ _

_"Same here," Sora said, her hands on her hips. "And that's why I say… I get first dibs on the tire swing!" She ran forward, but Taichi put his arms around her waist and pulled her back._

_ _

_"You won't get it that easy." He let go and reached the tire swing, but she pushed him off. "Why, yes, I'd love to have the first go on the tire swing," she said in a falsely sugary sweet voice._

_ _

_Taichi rolled his eyes and laughed. He was glad Sora had so easily forgotten her troubles with her ex-boyfriend. Maybe if he pushed her around enough on the tire swing and got her all dizzy, she'd forget about it entirely. So that's what he did. And when Sora got to nauseous to stay on any longer, she fell off the tire, and Taichi caught her. "Maybe it's time we get you home now."_

_ _

_"But you didn't have a turn!"_

_ _

_"I had fun just watching your face get all green like that," he replied._

_ _

_"Tai?"_

_ _

_"What?"_

_ _

_"How did I even get here in the first place?" she asked, a confused look on her face. She looked concentrated, trying to remember, but it was hopeless._

_ _

Mission accomplished, _he thought with a grin._

_ _

**~*^*~**

Taichi walked past the big tree and the remains of the tire swing, and deeper into the trees, until it became a forest. He still remembered every exact turn and direction to go in to get to his and Sora's secret, special spot. He made a final right turn, and found himself in the secluded circle of trees. It was completely quiet, but in no means eerie. He stepped into the grassy circle, blanketed with blooming flowers, surrounded on all sides (even though circles don't have sides…) by large trees. It was their hideaway, where they spent all their time in afterwards. But he still remembered the first day they found it, directly after Sora's break up and the tire swing moment.

**~*^*~**

_Sora hopped off the tire swing. "I don't want to go home yet, Tai. Do you realize how many places there are in this park, that even though we've been here for years, we haven't found? There can be so many nooks and crannies—"_

_ _

_"You sound like you're talking about an English muffin," he remarked, cutting her off._

_ _

_"Hey, you interrupted my 'directly-before-a-huge-adventure-speech'," she said indignantly. "Let me finish here, okay? Anyway, as I was saying, there can be so many nooks and crannies and secret places that have yet to be explored. And I'm in an adventurous mood—"_

_ _

_"Too bad you never were in the Digiworld. You kept worrying about our safety and stuff all the time, acting all mother-ish—"_

_ _

_"Will you let me finish?" Sora asked, getting a bit annoyed. "Okay, back to what I was trying to say before you rudely interrupted me for the second time—"_

_ _

_"Interrupt? When did I interrupt?" he asked in an innocent tone, but his eyes glittered of deviousness._

_ _

_She rolled her eyes. "I'm in an adventurous mood, so I say we try to explore as much as we can of this park that we love so dearly. And I say we first start with that forest there." She breathed a sigh of relief. "I finally fin—"_

_ _

_"What did you say again? I wasn't listening."_

_ _

_"Oh, shut up," she said, grabbing his hand, and dragging him forward. They stepped into the forest. "Wow, it's like a maze in here."_

_ _

_"Well, the only thing to do is run around blindly, taking turns and going any which way, acting like we know what we're doing. Come on!" Now he pulled her hand and dashed about, left, right, left, left, straight ahead, right, left, he kept on going._

_ _

_"Excuse me, but how are we going to find our way out, Mr. Smarty Pants Hotshot?" she asked, her hands on her hips. _(Hehe, my algebra teacher called one of the people I dislike the most that, AND she told him to shut up!)

_"Easy. Do what we did to get here. Run around blindly, taking turns and going any which way, acting like we know what we're doing." He took a final right turn, and they found themselves in a beautiful, secret area. It was a round, grassy place surrounded by trees. "And look what we found by doing it," he said in awe._

_ _

_"Wow, it's so secluded! Seems almost magical, like a fairy circle or something," she breathed excitedly. "See, there are plenty of places we have to explore. Look what we found! Think there are other places this neat?"_

_ _

_"Sure! Want to go look for them now?"_

_ _

_"But what if we never find this place again?" she asked worriedly._

_ _

_"Don't worry, we'll run around blindly, taking turns and going any which way, acting like we know what we're doing, and we're bound to run into it again. Let's keep searching for more places!" he said, taking a hold of her hand again._

_ _

_"What if we get lost?"_

_ _

_"Well, the only thing to do is run around blindly—"_

_ _

_"Okay, okay, I get the point! You sound like a broken record!" she cried out, letting him lead, as he ran around blindly, taking turns and going any which way, acting like he knew what he was doing._

_ _

**~*^*~**

After some time, they walked that way so many times that it was practically engrained in their skulls. They didn't have to run around every way and hope they would find it. They could practically walk there in their sleep, just like Taichi just had.

**~*^*~**

_Springtime was in the air. Intoxicating scents of fragrant flowers and other plants surrounded them. Everything was in full bloom. It was colorful, it was beautiful, it was nature at its finest. It was a wonderful, perfect day._

_ _

_Sora looked over at Tai, as they held hands (in a best friends manner, nothing more) and walked down the streets of Odaiba. "What do you say? Is it not a perfect day to go to the secret spot?"_

_ _

_He looked at the excited expression on her face, and hated to let her down. "It is perfect, and I'd love to go to the secret spot."_

_ _

_"But?" she prompted._

_ _

_"But…I'm kind of busy today. My whole family has to go visit my grandma. She's really ill, but she refuses to admit it. The doctors, however, say that her time may be running short. We need to visit her one last time," he explained. "I'm sorry, but—"_

_ _

_"Don't be sorry, Tai. If a family member of yours is on their deathbed, I'm not going to force you to come with me and just act like little kids. Kari is even going out of her way to stay out of the Digiworld when they have something important. Why should you care that you can't be with me?"_

_ _

_"I don't know, I just…feel sort of bad."_

_ _

_"Feel bad for your grandma, Tai! Certainly not being able to spend time with me, which you always do anyway. I really don't mind. Okay?"_

_ _

_He nodded. "You're right. I dunno, I just…" he trailed off._

_ _

_"You just…what?" she asked curiously._

_ _

_Taichi turned away, hiding the blush that had crept over his cheeks. "It's nothing."_

_ _

_"Whatever," she said with a shrug. _

_ _

_He glanced at his watch. "Oh, I'm really sorry, Sora. But I better go now, or my entire family will kill me."_

_ _

_"All right. Listen, don't feel bad about not being able to be with me. You can spend any other time with me."_

_ _

_"But not everyday is a perfect day."_

_ _

_"Which is why you should spend this perfect day with your grandmother. See you later, Tai!" she called, as he walked off._

_ _

_"Later, Sora," he said. _But maybe sooner than you expect.__

_ _

**~*^*~**

Ding-dong!

_Mrs. Takenouchi opened the door. "Oh, hello, Taichi. Are you here for Sora?"_

_ _

_"Yes, is she home?"_

_ _

_"She's in her room, I think. I'll get her. Hold on." She walked back into the house. "Sora! It's Taichi!" she called._

_ _

Tai? _Sora wondered._ What is he doing here so late at night? _She came to the doorway. "Tai? What is it? Is something wrong?"_

_ _

_"No, only that we didn't get to spend this perfect day together," he replied._

_ _

_"So how's your grandma?"_

_ _

_"Oh, heh, well the doctors were wrong and she was right. She's really perfectly fine. This illness won't be the death of her yet."_

_ _

_"That's really great," she said with a smile. "Now really, why are you here? It's pretty late."_

_ _

_"I know it's nighttime, but we've been out pretty late before."_

_ _

_"You mean we're going out? Where?"_

_ _

_"You'll find out. Now close your eyes," he instructed._

_ _

_"Why? Tai, what are you—"_

_ _

_"Shhh…" he replied. "Just relax and let me guide you. Plus, it's a surprise."_

_ _

_Sora felt a cloth put over her eyes and tied behind her head. "What's with the blindfold?"_

_ _

_"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. It's just a big surprise, okay? Have some faith. Just trust me," he told her._

_ _

_"I trust you," she said softly._

_ _

_"Good. Now come on." He pushed her forward. "I'll have her home in a while, but I don't know when, Mrs. Takenouchi!" he called inside the house, his hand on the doorknob._

_ _

_"Sure, I trust you. Just have her back sometime early morning before I wake up, and I won't be angry. Just – no…funny business, all right?" She said that every single time he and Sora went out together._

_ _

_Taichi rolled his eyes and he was pretty sure Sora had behind the blindfolds. "Yes, Mrs. Takenouchi. Goodbye!" He closed the door and locked it with the spare key under the doormat. "Now come on, Sora." He led her away._

_ _

**~*^*~**

_Tai parked his car, and let Sora out. "Come on, let's go Sora." He held her hand and they started walking. But as soon as they he started taking turns: left, right, left, left, straight ahead, right, left, Sora knew exactly where they were headed._

_ _

_"Why the secret spot?" she asked him._

_ _

_He untied the blindfolds, they were useless anyway, and stuffed them into his pocket. "You suggested it this afternoon."_

_ _

_"So we came here because of me? Didn't I tell you that you didn't have to feel bad about us not being able to hang out?" she asked with a sigh._

_ _

_"Well, I kind of wanted to tell you something important too," he said shyly. "Come on." Still holding hands, they walked into their secrets spot and, at the same time, they both gasped suddenly. Their normally plain and just grassy circle was covered in blooming pastel pink, yellow, blue, and purple flowers. It was absolutely beautiful, and a sweet fragrance hung in the air._

_ _

_"Wow," Sora said excitedly. "This is so pretty!" Giggling, she ran into the flower field and started laughing and spinning around like a graceful ballerina._

_ _

_"Are you all right, Sora?" Taichi asked, looking at her, a little surprised._

_ _

_"Oh, nothing… It's just springtime and there's all these beautiful flowers… It sort of goes to my head and makes me go a little crazy sometimes… But isn't it great?" She was beaming, and she started twirling and spinning around again. "It's fun, Tai, you do it too!"_

_ _

_"I don't want to look queer or something," he said hesitantly._

_ _

_"Aw, who's gonna see you out here in the middle of nowhere? Come on!" Sora ran over t him, grabbed both his wrists, and pulled him back. But he stumbled and fell. She giggled and helped him up. "Come on, dance with me?"_

_ _

_"I'm not going to look like some freaking gay Sugar Plum Fairy," he protested._

_ _

_"Okay, so we don't have to prance around like little ballet dancers, but will you dance with me? I'm just in a dancing mood."_

_ _

_He sighed. "Maybe later. But Sora, I have to tell you something really important—"_

_ _

_But again, she was not paying attention. Maybe the scent of flowers had intoxicated her and gone to her head, or the many colors had given her some sort of seizure. "Remember the last time we stayed out in the park late at night?"_

_ _

_"You told me not to forget," he reminded her._

_ _

_"So you remember the promise?" _

_ _

_"Of course," he answered._

_ _

_"Well, I was thinking… How about we make another promise?" she suggested._

_ _

_"Why?"_

_ _

_Sora paused, trying to come up with a decent answer that he would buy. "I don't know, these promises just make our friendship interesting. It adds more depth to it, it gives it a purpose."_

_ _

The fruitless effort of adding meaning to what is meaningless…_he remembered. But their friendship was anything but meaningless. It meant the world to him. Maybe Sora was right. "Okay, what are we supposed to promise now?"_

_ _

_"Do you ever worry that some big thing is going to happen, whether its completely horrible or not? That maybe—"_

_ _

_"Like what?" he asked._

_ _

_"Taichi, I'm not in the mood to be interrupted. You ruined my adventurous speech last time, but you are not going to ruin my deep, cheesy, what-if speech."_

_ _

_"Does every sort of speech have a stereotype with you?"_

_ _

_"Quit it. Just let me get back to it again. As I was saying, what if something happened, and we were separated, without a goodbye? What would happen? We'd spend forever trying to look for each other, but what if we never found each other again?"_

_ _

_"Why are you worrying about this?"_

_ _

_"I had a dream last night…" she said. (If you played FFVIII, does this sound remotely familiar?) "We were both split up somehow, and I was searching everywhere to find you, but I couldn't. This world is just too big to try to find one person of six billion. And our friendship means too much for me to lose you so easily. Promise me that if we ever stop talking to each other, ever have to move away and separate, that we'll meet again."_

_ _

_"How will we do that?" he asked curiously._

_ _

_"We need to have a place…and a time. If for some reason, no matter what it is, we get separated, we'll meet at this very spot, on this very date, this very time, exactly ten years from now. No matter what business stuff we have, or _anything, _we have to meet back here in exactly ten years. So we never have to worry about not seeing each other ever again."_

_ _

_The concept sounded remotely familiar to him, like he had read it in a book or seen it on TV or something. "In exactly ten years then? We'll come back to the secret spot and just catch up on our lives? Right here?"_

_ _

_She nodded. "So do you promise?"_

_ _

_It was an easy answer. What else would he say, _'No, I never want to see you again'?_ "I promise."_

_ _

_Sora smiled. "I promise too. Doesn't this flower field seem like the perfect place for a reunion?"_

_ _

_"Yeah, but not if you start getting all high again…" Tai began._

_ _

_"Which reminds me, I have to go back to begging you to dance with me. Please, Tai? It'll be so perfect."_

_ _

_"But there's no music…" he said, still trying to get out of it. "And I'm not going to sing."_

_ _

_"That's a good thing," she joked. "But please…just one dance. A slow dance…I should really try to calm down and be serious here. Then you can tell me your really important thing."_

_ _

_"Yeah, but that important thing is kind of nerve-wracking, and that's why I'm not in the mood to be dancing…"_

_ _

_"Please? Just one slow dance. It'll be perfect, underneath the beautiful night sky, dancing in a field of beautiful flowers in the springtime. I used to have this fantasy sometime," she said dreamily._

_ _

_"With you and who?"_

_ _

_Pink hues appeared on her cheeks. "Oh, nothing… Did I say that out loud? Anyway, please, Tai? Pretty please with sugar and a cherry on top?"_

_ _

_"Well, since you put it that way," he said sarcastically. He sighed. "Okay, fine, if you won't stop begging."_

_ _

_Sora broke out into a smile. "Oh, thank you, Tai!" She grabbed his hands and pulled him to the center of the circle of flowers. He awkwardly put his arms around her waist, and she put hers around his neck. They began to dance. "I gotta admit, this _is_ pretty weird. My dreams always came with music supplied."_

_ _

_"Didn't I say that?"_

_ _

_"Shut up and dance with me. It'll be all right, just get some music in your head." They continued dancing. "So what song are you thinking of?" she asked after some time._

_ _

_"_I Want To Kill Myself_," he replied._

_ _

_Her eyes were closed and she was apparently caught in the moment. "Hmmm, I've never heard of that one. Who sings – wait a second! That's so mean, Tai! You're ruining the romantic mood!" _Did I just say romantic mood out loud? I've got to develop some skills for tact.

_ _

Romantic mood, huh? Maybe I don't have to be so nervous about this after all. _"I'm sorry, this is just sort of uncomfortable." _What's the matter with me? I like her, why don't I want to dance with her?

_"Yeah, maybe my dreams weren't really that great in actuality," she said sadly. "Maybe wishes aren't all that wonderful either. But they just seemed a lot better in my head."_

_ _

_"Speaking of your head—"_

_ _

_"What? Is something wrong with my head?" she asked frantically, her hands rushing to her head._

_ _

_He grinned at how paranoid she was getting. "No, no – relax." He took her hands and put them back around his neck, and moved his back to her waist. "I was going to ask, what song were you thinking of in your head?"_

_ _

_She blushed and said timidly, "_Kiss Me._"_

_ _

_"What?" he asked, totally taken by surprise._ Did she just say – I'm not hearing things, am I?_ "Can you repeat that…I didn't catch it."_

_ _

_"_Kiss Me_," she repeated._

_ _

_His eyes were wide, but he managed to close them. Then he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. The moment was amazing, and the kiss got deeper. But after a while, it was Sora's eyes that went wide._

_ _

_"What was that for?" she asked in surprise, drawing back. It had taken her some time to fully register what had been happening between them._

_ _

_"You said—"_

_ _

_"That's a song, Tai. A song, by Sixpence None the Richer."_

_ _

_"Even so, why was that song going through your head?" he asked, trying to place some of the blame on her._

_ _

_"Because – because it's a really romantic song—"_

_ _

_"There! You said it again, _romantic! _If you wanted romantic, then why did you pull back? I call a kiss pretty romantic."_

_ _

_"I don't know, it's just kind of strange. We're just best friends, right? Really close friends, but nothing more, aren't we?" Sora asked him._

_ _

_Her words stung him. So that's all she thought of them. Good thing he hadn't told her that he loved her, or else he'd have been even more heartbroken. And that was hard to imagine, because nothing could describe the pain he felt. "Ummm…y – yeah," he mumbled. "Look, Sora, I'm sorry, I have to go—" And he turned around and ran off._

_ _

_"Tai! How am I going to get home?" she called, but he was already far gone, running as fast as he could. That was the least of Tai's worries. She didn't love him… Maybe this was the event that would make them separate for a long, long time. So if he didn't talk to her again, it still wouldn't be the last time he'd see her._

_ _

**~*^*~**

** **

_Why did I have to use that excuse? _Taichi thought. _That was really stupid of me. At least I get to see her again…I hope… I can't believe I actually avoided her like that. For so many years… But I'll get to see her again._

_ _

He glanced at his watch, and realized he was still pretty early. So he sat down in the middle of the circle and plucked a daisy out. _She loves me…she loves me not…she loves me…_ And five petals later, he ended on…_ She loves me…not. _He sighed. _So these stupid flowers do hold some truth to them._ _It's been ten years, and I still haven't been able to get over Sora. What's the matter with me? She's never loved me, I'm just her best friend, and I still can't stop myself from feeling this way…_

_ _

After much thinking and more remembering, he checked the time again. Now it was the exact time he had brought Sora to the secret spot. So where was she? When a bit more time passed, he began to worry. _What if she died or something? Or if she was too busy…no, we promised we'd drop _anything_, no matter what. But what if her mom died or something? Or this was her wedding day? Or she went into labor this day? Or…something a whole lot simpler…_ "What if she just forgot about this?"

He stood up and thought about leaving. She wasn't going to show up was she? _It was all a trap… Just to mess with my head, bring my hopes up, screw up all my plans on this day. She just tricked me into coming here, and I'm never going to meet her again…_

_ _

He realized a full hour had passed, and just decided to give up. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to leave the secret spot.

_ _

But just then, someone jumped directly in front of him, and he fell back, startled. As he lay on his back, that someone laughed. "Boo," they whispered, their face close to his. A few strands of light brown hair framed her face, but the rest of it was drawn into a messy bun. Her ruby eyes, outlined by some eye makeup, looked more sparkling than ever.

"_SORA!_" he cried, overjoyed. Nothing could describe how happy he felt at that moment. He didn't care that she wasn't in love with him; he was just too elated to see her, now after so long.

She stuck his hand out and helped her up. "Sorry, I couldn't resist," she told him with a wide grin. "I haven't climbed a tree in so long, I just had to."

"Well, you never could stay away from climbing trees," he said. "Where were you? You're so late!"

"Late? I thought I was a few minutes _early._" She looked at her watch. "And I was right."

Taichi looked over at her watch too. "You forgot to set it for Daylight Saving's Time," he told her.

She giggled. "How typical of me, huh? I have absolutely no sense with time." After a while, she calmed down. "So, Tai…how are you?" she asked softly. "—Can I still call you Tai…?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. No one has called me that for quite a while, except 'Kari. But it's kind of nice. Makes me feel like we're not all stuffy, boring grown-ups."

"Yeah. Seems like we really haven't changed too much in ten years, have we?"

He shook his head. "I don't ever think I will change too much. This is pretty much how I like myself."

"It's how I like you too."

Taichi and Sora went on to talk about their jobs, their homes, their family, and a whole bunch of other typical things you talk about after a long time of not seeing someone. It was a typical reunion, until the subject of their love lives came up.

Taichi paled when she mentioned it, but quickly hid it. "Well, I dated a few girls that 'Kari thought were perfect for me, but none never worked out." _Because I made sure none of them worked out…_

_ _

"I dated TONS, and I just never found anyone. I mean, they're all my type, they were all pretty much everything I could look for in a guy, but I just never worked it out. I think I pushed them away from me, but I'm not all too sure why. I always wanted to find pure, true love, because think of my crest! But love from a man is the one thing I'm deprived of," she replied quietly. "So I still have to hope that one day I'll find my perfect husband."

_Maybe you've already found him. Maybe he's always been right there, waiting for you to realize how you felt about him, since he returned the feelings too. _Taichi was thinking. But what he was thinking slipped out his mind and out of his mouth.

She stared at him for a few seconds, disbelievingly, but he still hadn't realized he had said it aloud. "…You really think so? That the person has always been right in front of me and I'm too stupid to realize?"

"I never said you were stupid… I never said anything!" he said. _Oh, great, she can read my mind now? Unless it accidentally came out my mouth…?_

_ _

"You just said… And that that person feels the same way… Oh, Tai…were you talking about…_yourself_?" Her hand was in front of her mouth. "Was that an example…"

"I – I was rhetorically speaking!" he said frenetically. _How did I say that out loud? Taichi Yagami, you idiot! You really blew it now! You totally and completely ruined this reunion. Why did I have to tell her that?!_

_ _

"Rhetorical nothing, Taichi," she said. "I've known you practically all my life, which is a hint that you were talking about yourself, and two, I can easily tell when you're lying, trying to cover up something stupid you did. Well, let me tell you something—"

_This is probably going to hurt, _he thought, wincing. _She's going to say something and break my heart all over again. And I'll act like a total wuss and try to run off, and this time, I'll never see her again because we haven't renewed our promise…_

_ _

"—it wasn't stupid," she finished, her voice very quiet.

"What?"

"It isn't stupid that you should think that the perfect person for me is you. Because…because you're right." She lowered her head. "I have felt something for you too, but I was holding back because I kept thinking it was wrong to feel that way about someone who was supposed to be just my best friend. But who says that's all we're supposed to be? When you kissed me, Tai, I realized that I had nothing to worry about you feeling the same way or not, but then I got scared. What if it didn't work out and our friendship was ruined forever? So I just let you run away, I didn't go after you, and I lost you, because I _didn't _tell you how I felt. And I never got to figure out the important thing you were going to tell me, and I felt like such an idiot."

"Stop doing this to yourself. I did exactly the same thing, Sora. The important thing I was going to tell you were my feelings for you. But maybe it was a little too soon for the both of us. The thing we needed could've been a break away from each other to realize what we really want. We never talked to each other again because we still weren't sure. It took time to figure that out, and I think we know it now. The thing we both want is each other. You know how they say that sometimes if you love something, you have to let something go? And if it comes back to you, it's truly yours, and if it doesn't, it was never was yours in the first place? Well, I'm not exactly the brightest of all people, but I think that's what it means, what just happened to us."

"You're perfectly right," she replied. "But with what you just said…it sounds like you're starting to believe in fate."

"How could I not? When we were destined to be together?"

Tears were forming in Sora's eyes, but they were of happiness. "You do realize we just broke our promise, don't you?"

"To be best friends forever, and not let anything get in the way of it?" Taichi asked. "That one?" She nodded. "Well, that one was a little misguided. Love got in the way, and it only made our friendship stronger. But that's exactly what made us not want to admit our feelings for each other; we thought we had to be best friends. But don't regret it. Because if we didn't make that promise, we wouldn't have been as close as we became, and we wouldn't have fallen in love, and we wouldn't have made the second promise: which was one of the best things we've ever done. Where would we be without your dream?"

"We'd be without each other," she said. "But all those things _did _happen, so we don't have to worry. Because now I promise we'll always be together. Always you and I." (Proper grammar would be _ME, _wouldn't it? *_Shrugs_* Whatever) "Now there's a promise I made, that still keeps us together, but doesn't restrict us to anything."

He looked up for a while, and then back down to her. "Sora, from now on, save all these promises to our wedding day."

"So we're going to get married?" she asked with a smile. "You're thinking a bit far ahead, aren't you?"

He shook his head and grinned. "Nope, I just read our fate in the stars." Now they were both smiling happily. "Dance with me?" he asked.

She accepted his invitation and took his hand. "I'd love to." As they slow danced underneath the beautiful night sky in the field of flowers, time and the years seemed to melt away, and they felt like foolish teenagers again.

"You know what?" Taichi asked, drawing her closer. "On my way here, I couldn't help thinking about all the memories you and I have shared, at this exact park."

"Don't linger on the past," she said. "Live life for today, and think ahead of the future. Try not to think of the memories past…live life now and make more memories for later."

"Sounds a little like one of Matt's first songs," he remarked.

"Hmmm, you're right, it does." And then she started thinking more, and Taichi noticed how deep in thought her face looked.

"Relax and get lost in the moment," he whispered.

"But I was thinking of a song," she told him.

He grinned. "Oh yeah? What song is that?"

"_Kiss Me_," she said. "Yes, the song, and this time, I also mean it." So they closed their eyes, and he leaned in to give her a long, deep, passionate kiss.

"And that's how promises should be sealed," he said. "We'll always be together, always you and I."

"Save promises for our wedding day," she teased, and leaned forward to kiss him again. They had so many memories to remember, and they were making more.

**THE END**

** **

That part really disappointed me. It was just…_blah_. I had no idea where in the hell to end. Apparently, the story didn't want to be finished yet. So I just quit. I literally forced myself to stop typing. The end has nothing to do with the title. What should I have named it? Memories? Making Memories? Then that goes all the way back to the alliteration problem I have when I can't think of a title. Oh well. So the end and title sucked, but those are always my weak points (along with _tons _of others). But it was happy, right? Right? And cheesy? And fluffy? And WAFF-y? And mushy? And all those other things my stories lately have been lacking, and that's pretty much good enough for me. But was it good enough for you? Just…just review if you have anything good to say, and it'll make me feel better.


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